


Open Door, Open Invitation

by Lazchan



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Gen, it can sorta be seen as kuromahi, maybe the start of it, super lowkey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 22:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8551981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazchan/pseuds/Lazchan
Summary: Mahiru shares a dream with Kuro and learns somewhat of what opens doors can mean and what sharing power can lead to.





	

Mahiru knew where he was straightaway, but he didn't know _how_ he ended up here. It wasn't as if he has visited the mad doctor and sent inside Kuro's mind. This time—he had to have done it all on his own and that worried him.

 

_Kuro's not going to be happy…_ Mahiru bit his lip as he looked around, trying to find a way out. Last time he had taken a hold of Kuro and they together had broken the shell and stepped back out into the open air. This time Mahiru seemed to be completely alone, except for the tall formations that were chained shut and held Kuro's memories locked away.

 

He walked down the corridors and even the little demon that had taunted him the first time was absent and Mahiru shivered a little in the wind, realizing he was still wearing his night clothes and his feet were bare. He scowled a little and put form to thought and was soon wearing warm clothes and shoes and it was almost creepy how easy he was able to change the surroundings to fit his needs. _Maybe this is only a dream after all… I mean—thinking about it, wouldn’t anyone dream about such a thing after they experienced it?_

The chained memories seemed endless and Mahiru realized that Kuro had lived such a long, long time before him—and would be living a long life after, as well. The thought made his heart hurt and he didn't want to think about leaving Kuro. As annoying as the vampire had been at first, he had evolved into something more as time had gone on—a true friend and partner and someone that Mahiru couldn’t see himself without.

 

Mahiru found himself in front of an open door and he wondered for a moment if it was the same one that he had opened when he found Kuro here last, but that room had shattered, hadn't it? It had to be a different one and Mahiru took rapid steps backward, not willing to go closer to the door, dream or no. He wasn't going to take the chance that it _was_ somehow real and he wasn't going to intrude on something that Kuro wished to keep private. If Kuro wanted to tell him anything, he would do so out loud and Mahiru wouldn't break his trust by snooping around.

 

He leaned against one of the other locked off rooms and closed his eyes, wondering if he could will himself away. If he could make himself clothing, surely it was just a simple step to wake up as well, right?

 

The wind whistling through the doors told him that he wasn’t successful and Mahiru sighed, looking around. It was so lonely here; Kuro had to have been alone with so many of his memories; ones that even he didn't want to face. He didn't think that Kuro went here every time he fell asleep; he couldn't imagine being here all the time, alone.

 

"I'm not always out here." Mahiru spun around at the sound of Kuro's voice, face flushing at being caught out, even if he hadn't intended to be here at all. He ignored the small voice in the back of his head that told him _even if you aren't going to say it out loud, you're still curious. Even if you respect Kuro, you still want to know._ "What a pain…" he muttered. "I opened a door for you and you just sit out here?"

 

"Kuro?" Mahiru blinked up at him. "I thought… this isn't actually a dream?"

Kuro ran a hand through his hair, sighing and standing next to Mahiru. For once he wasn't slumping and Mahiru was surprised at how much taller Kuro was than him. "Not your dream," he said slowly, each word dragged out. "But we can share dreams, since we have the contract."

 

Mahiru's face burned and he looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, Kuro… I didn't mean—"

Kuro covered his mouth with one hand. "If I didn't want you here, you'd already be gone," he muttered. "Come on…you had all these questions in here—" he tapped the  side of Mahiru's head. "Don't you want to know the answer?"

 

Mahiru batted away Kuro's hand, irritated. "I wasn't going to go waltzing into your memories," he muttered. "I told you the truth when I said that I was going to wait for you to tell me." He looked back at all the memories that were stretched out around them and he almost … _almost_ voice his concern that he was just one more human that would fall out of Kuro's life.

 

"You'd think you'd think simply when you saw the only open door…" Kuro sighed. "Can't deal with this," he muttered, pushing Mahiru toward the door. As Mahiru got closer, he noticed it had been unlocked, not shattered, the links of the chain dangling from the side of the door. "It's an old memory," Kuro was right next to him and his expression was unreadable.

 

Mahiru gave him a quick, bright smile. "I—" he knew this had to be hard for Kuro and he noticed it in the way the other was so tense beside him. "I can still wait, Kuro," he said softly, moving to shut the doors so that Kuro could make a choice.

 

"Just a small memory," Kuro said in his ear. "You need to understand as well. The midget and that demented angel know a little and I have no doubt that the weirdo doll collector knows, too." Kuro pushed him inside the room, shutting the door behind him so that Mahiru couldn't leave. With the click of the door, it vanished and he was in a frozen memory of Kuro's and Mahiru swallowed hard, unsure of what he was going to be shown.

 

Mahiru knew instinctively that this was a younger Kuro, even if he looked the same age. He was dressed so different; even from the memories he had shared with Kuro before. Formal, foreign—it wasn't like anything he had ever seen and he was facing a man whose face lay in shadow.

 

"Didn't you do enough?" he was demanding. "Why did you continue this experiment? I thought you said that what you did with me was enough." There was no jealousy in the words, just a resigned sort of tone, something that was deeply saddened by whatever it was this shadowy figure had done.

 

"Ah, but I've already decided on a theme," came the response. "It means that you shall have to go through some modifications as well, but – it's all in the name of science, Sleepy Ash."

 

"You can't even use my original name?" Kuro—no, this wasn’t Kuro, not yet. This was Sleepy Ash, the first Servamp that had been created. "You have to call me by that name you created when you made me into your first monster?"

 

"You are no longer that person, so it is foolish to continue that name." Mahiru still couldn't see that figure and the shadows wrapped more tightly around him. Kuro didn't want to see the face of the man that had caused him so much pain. "Come now, Sleepy Ash. Did you want to be lonely all your life? I made you a brother."

 

Sleepy Ash hissed through his teeth with the small child that was pushed into his view, the change already visible in scared red eyes. _Another vampire, another monster—and this one too young to protest. To believe that the man that 'saved' him was going to be the man that would give him treats and toys and never hurt him._

"I think I'll call him Old Child." A hand was only visible as it rested on the top of the child's head. "A quaint amusement, don't you think?" he asked. "He was already so independent and well spoken."

 

"What's this plan of yours?" Sleepy Ash asked, cautious and nervous all at once. "What else are you going to do to… to people that you find?" He found those on the edge of death and played with them for weeks, he found those that were healthy and wanted to live. Most all of them died except Sleepy Ash himself and now this child. Who else was Father going to find and trick?

 

"First—let me tell you your title, Sleepy Ash—" The hand reached close and tried pulled Sleepy Ash into the shadows, close to him. "How does _Sloth_ sound to you?" He asked softly. "I've already decided this quaint little child can be Pride."

 

"… you mean to have seven of us, then," Sleepy Ash didn't move from his spot, staring at him in wide-eyed shock. "You want to turn seven innocent humans into your monsters."

 

"Now, now, is that any way to talk to your father?" the man asked. "It isn't as bad as you fear. I've already perfected the formula and all the mess from my prior experiments isn't a factor anymore. You'll have a family again, Sleepy Ash. I promise—I'll give you back the family that we lost."

 

Mahiru hadn't missed the fear in Sleepy Ash's eyes as he was led away, the child Pride being herded along with the two of them. _Modifications… what else had been done to him…and how many times?_

 

Mahiru jerked backwards, found the handle to a door behind his hand and wrenched it open. His hands flailed at the emptiness and he tripped over his own feet, eager to get away from the scene. A heartbeat later and he was seeing stars as his head smacked into the floor of his room.

 

He sat up slowly, a little dazed and rubbing at his head, staring at the shadows that clung to the corners of the room. He blinked and they seemed to move, curling towards him, but he wasn't _scared_ , they were almost trying to—Mahiru shook his head. He must have hit his head harder than he thought. It was like they were trying to comfort him and that was just too weird for words.

 

Kuro wasn't in the bedroom—he might have been in his uncle's room or on the couch or curled up in cat form somewhere. For all Mahiru knew, the other might leave at night when Mahiru was asleep, just to get time to himself. He had to clear his head from the dream that he had; it felt too real to be an ordinary dream and something so detailed and specific—he wasn't so imaginative as to have come up with something like that.

 

He paused in the kitchen, already having pulled out two glasses and poured tea in them; he was that used to getting Kuro a glass of tea or water when he got his, he was used to doubling his portions and making room on the couch or buying certain foods that Kuro liked. A real part of his life and apparently Kuro thought so as well, even if it wasn't intentional…

 

To have shared something like that—Mahiru's heart twisted at the trust that Kuro put in him. It wasn't like he was going to demand more with that scene of his life and Mahiru wondered how he was going to approach it or if he even should bring it up at all.

 

The shadows twitched around his feet again and he looked around to see Kuro coming in the room, rubbing at his eyes and yawning. "You're up way too late, Mahiru…" He stumbled over to the kitchen and took the glass that Mahiru offered him. Mahiru couldn't help compare the boy in his dreams to the one that stood in front of him and without thinking he reached out, touching the dark circles beneath Kuro's eyes. "They weren't there before," he said slowly.

 

To his credit, Kuro hadn't backed away with Mahiru's touch, just stared at him with wide, shocked eyes. "What…what are you talking about?" he yawned and took a quick gulp of tea, nearly choking on the liquid.

 

Mahiru watched him and pulled his hand away slowly, trying best to think of the most simple way to bring it up, but nothing about the situation was simple; it hadn't been since he had become partners with Kuro. "… I dreamt about your memories," he said slowly, watching Kuro carefully.

 

Now Kuro took a step back and he clutched at the glass tightly, tiny cracks appearing in it until Mahiru retrieved it from his grasp. At least it was already empty, but… _that's not important, Mahiru,_ he chided himself. "Which memory?"

 

Mahiru turned red. Ah, of course Kuro hadn't… "Maybe it was just a dream," Mahiru babbled quickly, setting down his own glass a little hard in the sink and he winced at the cracks that joined the one that Kuro's had. "I mean—sometimes I dream a lot and—" He stopped talking when Kuro rested a hand against his wrist.

 

"No—you probably dream about cleaning or something," he snorted. "Or the perfect sale—if you were dreaming about me," he sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "What a pain…we share a mental bond, you know. You probably slipped into my memories without thinking about it."

 

Mahiru bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Kuro… I really—" he rubbed at his arms. He was back in his night clothes and a window was open somewhere, creating a chill. "You were there in the dream and shoved me through a door," he said, a tiny smile on his face. "The most energy you've had outside of fighting."

 

"Hn," Kuro looked more curious at this and he took a step closer, forcing Mahiru's gaze back to his. "What did you see, Mahiru?" he demanded softly. "It must have been important if even a part of me wanted you to see it." He seemed to think over Mahiru's earlier action. "You saw me before I…"

 

"No—you were still a vampire," Mahiru said softly, "but I think I know you were human before. That's what…that person implied." He swallowed hard, feeling that cold chill down his back again at how… calm the man had sounded while talking about experimenting on children. "You were…introduced to Hugh… I mean—Pride… Old Child."

 

"Ah… that memory," Kuro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It was before I was turned into his vision of Sloth."

 

Mahiru winced a little. "You in the dream said that I should know—" he looked away again. "But—it was just the two of you and… and you were—"

 

"I was almost still myself," Kuro snorted. "I remember, Mahiru—I can't hardly forget such a thing as turning a kid into a vampire." He rubbed at his arms as well, even if he was wearing his jacket. "Even if Pride really took to it more than the rest of us…"

 

Mahiru reached out, gripping Kuro's coat gently. "I'm sorry," he said, trying to think of the right words and _none of them_ were really right, but he had to try. "For… for asking all those questions in the beginning. I really… I really didn't understand and I still don't, but…" he bit his lip.

 

"Such a pain…" Kuro muttered and shifted forms to jump onto Mahiru's shoulder and press close to him. "If you saw all that… it means you're understanding more." He yawned and his tail twitched, flicking Mahiru in the ear. "Maybe next time I'll invade _your_ memories."

 

Mahiru wanted to protest that there wasn’t anything in his mind like Kuro's and then flushed a little. There were still secrets that he hid away, secret shames and old snapshots of a life he had before Kuro. It wasn’t as echoing of a landscape, but he had his own locked doors. He smiled a little to himself.

 

"If you want to know, all you have to do is ask."

 

 

 


End file.
